For the first time since his mini retirement, Tim Thomas is coming back to Boston on Tuesday night, and he'll start for the Panthers to what will presumably be a mix of cheers and jeers from the fans at TD Bank Garden  cheers for the Stanley Cup he helped bring home in 2010-11, and jeers for his hardheaded, tone-deaf comments upon refusing to visit the White House for the traditional post-championship meeting with the president. It'll be an interesting time.

Meanwhile, the battle for position in the Metropolitan Division continues, with the majority of the division in action Tuesday night. The third- through seventh-place teams  Carolina, Columbus, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Washington, in that order  are all within three points of each other and all in action against teams outside the division. There could be quite a reshuffling in that order tonight.

Oh, and the entire Atlantic Division is playing. I didn't forget you guys, I promise  there's just a lot more intrigue going on in the Met.

Toronto Maple LeafsDavid Clarkson, RW (elbow)  Out at least through end of JanuaryTrevor Smith, LW (hand)  Could be back this week Dave Bolland, C (ankle)  Practiced for 25 minutes MondayFrazer McLaren, LW (shoulder)  Back with the team, but not in the lineup yet

Minnesota WildBrett Bulmer, LW (ankle/knee)  Out 4-6 more weeksJared Spurgeon, D (foot)  Traveling with the team, but only skating, not practicingMikko Koivu, C (ankle)  Won't play on current road trip, but skatingJosh Harding, G (illness)  Not traveling with the team due to more MS treatment changes

Jamie Benn, C, DAL  Always a reliable scorer, Benn's been extra reliable lately. He's scored goals in three straight games and has been on the score sheet in four straight, with a total of eight points in that span. Benn has been clicking admirably with first-line mates Tyler Seguin and Valeri Nichushkin  particularly Seguin, who's making a convincing case that he's a top-10 player in the league.

Alex Goligoski, D, DAL  Benn has been kind enough to bring some of his Dallas teammates with him, and none more than Goligoski, who's racked up seven assists in his last four games and handed out helpers in seven of eight games overall. Goli's been a major disappointment offensively since being dealt to Dallas for James Neal a few years back, and this year has been no exception. Prior to collecting these 10 points over his last eight contests, he'd managed just 14 points in 44 games to start the season.

Jonathan Quick, G, LA  Quick's been a whole different goalie since missing a month-and-a-half with a groin injury; after seeing Martin Jones and the since-traded Ben Scrivens dominate for large stretches in his absence, he's come back and reestablished himself in a big way here in January. Quick's started all but one game for the Kings since returning, having posted a 1.53 GAA and .938 save mark with two shutouts. And yet, despite allowing just 17 goals in 11 games, he's amazingly lost more than he's won  his record in that span is 5-4-2. The Kings have simply stopped scoring for him, especially lately  they've scored more than two goals just twice in those 11 games.

Cold

Carey Price, G, MON  Price has been setting a new standard for consistently poor play lately, as he's allowed four goals in four of his last five games  and in the fifth one, he gave up five goals. This is startling work from the Habs' No. 1 minder, as he'd looked like a superstar through the first two months of the year and much of December. Entering January, he had a sparkling .930 save mark; this month, he's sporting an .877, killing his owners with this midseason slump.

Erik Johnson, D, COL  Remember when Johnson was the first overall pick by the Blues in 2006 after a dominant season with the U.S. National Development Team? Ah, those were the days. EJ's gone without a point in his last nine games and has gone minus-7 in his last five contests. He hasn't even been putting many pucks on net  Johnson's got just eight shots on goal over the course of this slump. It's amazing that the Avs are so good with this guy as their top defenseman.

Andrew MacDonald, D, NYI  MacDonald went on a nice little stretch around the new year, going on a five-game point streak in which he collected eight assists, but has gone stone-cold since. He's got just a lone assist in his last 11 games, a miserable stretch of play that has been  and should be  getting him dropped from fantasy rosters. The only real positive for him has been his nine power-play points on the year.

Recommended PickupMark Barberio, D, TB  Barberio's been really coming into his own lately, playing very well and finally securing his spot in the lineup after a disappointing campaign last year in which he could hardly find a way to crack the lineup. He's got four points in the last four games  three of them goals. And this is nothing new for him  Barberio was a 61-point scorer in the AHL two years ago, and though he regressed some last season, he still put up 42 points and another 15 in the playoffs. There's legitimate offensive upside in the former sixth-round pick, though he'll need an injury ahead of him to climb the depth chart and skate more than the 15-17 minutes he's seeing lately. Still, there's room for Barberio to gain more power-play responsibility.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.